News for BCM Faculty, July 28, 2022
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College News

Caption: Aug. 1 starts the new academic year for Baylor's School of Medicine. You'll see fresh medical students exploring campus so make sure to say hello and welcome!

Faculty Kudos

The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (part of NIH) has awarded a $3 million MPI R01 grant to Dr. Dongsu Park, assistant professor of molecular and human genetics, and Dr. Brendan Lee, chair and professor of molecular and human genetics and Robert and Janice McNair Endowed Chair in Molecular and Human Genetics, for their project, "Regulation of Skeletal Progenitor Cells in Osteogenesis Imperfecta." The funds will be distributed over three years.

Dr. Danny Castro, associate professor of medicine – pediatrics and program director of the Pediatric Critical Care Medicine Fellowship, co-wrote a new book, "A Practical Guide to Crew Resource Management for Healthcare Teams." The book emphasizes crew resource management skills in the healthcare profession by combining best practices from multiple industries with applicable real-world strategies.

Dr. Mihail G. Chelu, associate professor of medicine – cardiology, and Dr. Kenneth A. Ellenbogen, professor at Virginia Commonwealth University, and Dr. Richard Holubkov, biostatistician at the University of Utah, have been awarded a $31 million grant by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI). The grant is for a multi-institution collaborative study to determine the effectiveness and safety of commonly used pacing treatments for cardiac resynchronization therapy in people with heart failure.

Dr. Marisa Hilliard, associate professor of pediatrics – psychology, was awarded an R01 grant for $3.6 million from the NIH-National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases and the NIH-Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research to conduct a multisite, multimodal strengths-based behavioral intervention for children with type 1 diabetes. This award has the unique distinction of co-funding by NIH/OBSSR, which is reserved for the highest priority and most meritorious proposals.

Dr. Melanie Samuel, associate professor of neuroscience in the Huffington Center on Aging, recently was named the 73rd Mallinckrodt Scholar by the Edward Mallinckrodt, Jr. Foundation. Studies funded by this award will investigate roles for neuron-microglia signaling in modifying neural disease outcomes.

Coming Up

Genetic Counseling: Dan Riconda, associate professor and program director of the genetic counseling program, will deliver a lecture, "Genetic Counseling in Rare Diseases," at the IgNS National Conference on Sept. 30.

Upcoming Flu Study: The Baylor Vaccine Research Center is seeking volunteers to participate in influenza research this fall. If interested, please register. After registration, the center will contact participants with additional details. For more information, call 713-798-4912 or email VRC-FluStudy@bcm.edu.

Male volunteers needed for HPV study: Researchers are looking for male participants between the ages 50 and 64 for a screening trial aimed at early detection of HPV-related throat cancer. If interested, please register here. For any questions or concerns, please contact Giselle Santillana at 713-798-3261 or email hpvtrial@bcm.edu.

Faculty Opportunities

Showcase of Educational Scholarship: The Academy of Distinguished Educators at Baylor will hold its annual Showcase of Educational Scholarship from noon to 3 p.m. Sept. 15 in Rayzor Lounge. Submit an educational research abstract by Aug. 15. Two categories are open for trainees and faculty/staff. The top presentations in each category will receive an Educational Scholarship Recognition award. Please see Annual Showcase of Educational Scholarship Guidelines for detailed information. For questions, email Debbie Fernandez at faced@bcm.edu.

TMC News

U.S. News & World rankings: The U.S. News & World Report has ranked Baylor St. Luke's Medical Center as one of the country's best hospitals, second in the Houston metro area and No. 3 in Texas for its excellence in several medical specialties.

• Cancer (Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center) – No.  35
• Cardiology and Heart Surgery (Texas Heart Institute) – No. 20
• Gastroenterology and GI Surgery – No. 31
• Geriatrics – No. 43
• Neurology and Neurosurgery – No. 27
• Urology – No. 38

Nationally, MD Anderson Cancer Center is ranked No. 1 in Cancer Care, TIRR Memorial Hermann is ranked No. 2 in Rehabilitation, and Menninger Clinic is ranked No. 10 in Psychiatric Care. The U.S. News & World Report rankings for children's hospitals came out in June. Texas Children's Hospital rose to No. 2 among all children's hospitals in the country and is listed on the Honor Roll with high rankings in 10 specialties.

Questions or Comments?

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